Soldiers on the ground, in land vehicles, or in aircraft often have primary tasks (e.g., conducting a mission, driving, flying, etc.) that do not include operating a personal computer. However, it has become more important for personal computers to be used by soldiers, drivers, pilots, first responders, police officers, and others for mission-based communication, navigation, status checking, or other primary task support activities. Conventional mouse and keyboard user inputs can be a hindrance to a soldier's performance in the field. Systems and methods for allowing a soldier to utilize a personal computing devices while maintaining focus on the soldier's (or other user's) primary task are needed.
It is challenging and difficult to design and implement user interfaces for soldiers. Challenges include: (a) the intended environment for use is often harsh, (b) at least one of the soldier's hands are often full (e.g., with a weapon), (c) the soldier may be wearing gloves, (d) cables and wires are difficult to use in active environments, (e) size, weight and power consumption are all parameters that should be relatively low, and (f) the soldier may not be able to view the user interface due to an emergent event or situation.
While some of the embodiments described herein relate to wearable computers for soldiers, other embodiments of the present application relate to user interfaces for other types of wearable computers or interfaces (e.g., for first responders, for pilots, for firefighters, for police, etc.).